This year in sixth grade math we used a program called Connected Math 2.This is supposed to be challenging for the student. Connected Math 2 is made up of eight units in which we completed six of them. The six we completed are Bits and Pieces 1, Bits and Pieces 2, Shapes and Designs, Covering and Surrounding, Prime Time, and we are currently working on How Likely Is It? In each book there are four or five chapters. In each chapter there are at least four Investigations and in each investigation there are four to five points in them. Each point in one investigation teaches us a new skill. We usually complete a point in an investigation each math day. Every night we have 30 to 45 minutes of math homework in ACE. ACE stands for Application, Connections, and Extensions. We go over the homework from the night before in class to make sure everybody understands it. This is an actual page of ACE from the book Covering and Surrounding:
I don’t think we could survive math class without our notebooks! Everything we work on, whether in school or at home for homework si recorded in our notebooks. In each of our notebooks we have four sections. The first section is “Class work” or other people may call it “Journal”. This section has everything we started and completed during class time. Next is the “Homework” section. We record our answers to our homework in here. The third section is “Assessments”. This has all of our graded pieces in it. The last section is called “References”. We keep important papers in this section to refer back to on the ASK, open book tests and our test and project rubrics. We also have a vocabulary notebook that we will take with us to 7th grade. When we are working in our books, if we see a word highlighted in yellow, we know it is a vocabulary word that we have to copy down. All of these sections help us succeed in math and it keeps us organized. In addition to the separate sections in our notebook we have the current math book we are working on, our assignment list where we write down our homework, a pencil pouch, and a packet of lab sheets corresponding with our current math book. Lab sheets are papers that help us with a problem in a chapter or for our homework. An additional reason why we have sections is to make conclusions to understand why formulas and algorithms work.
The main thing in the beginning of each of the books is “Focus Questions”. These questions reflect the big mathematical goals of the unit. This is an example of the type of problems we will be doing in the book. These questions will show up somewhere in the unit; either as a class work problem or in ACE homework. Another major opener in the book is the Mathematical Highlights. This is a preview of the important ideas of the unit. They provide a base of what we will be learning in the unit. Here is an example of a unit opener:
Suppose a piece of rope wraps around Earth. Rope is added to make the entire rope 3 feet longer. The new rope circles Earth exactly the same distance away from the surface at all points. How far is the new rope from Earth’s surface?
One of my favorite units was Coverings and Surroundings. I liked this unit because we got to learn about area and perimeter. I now know how to measure the area and perimeter of circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, and irregular shapes. I also liked it because I learned lots of different ways to measure perimeter. One example of this is to get a string and wrap it around the shape, measure it on a ruler, and then convert it to a scale. Another reason I enjoyed this unit is because we learned about the parts of a circle and how to measure them. We also learned how to use pi to find the circumference of a circle. I learned so many things. For example, I know if you want to find the area of a triangle you us the formula base x height / 2 = area. I connected the concepts in this unit to things in the real world by finding the area and perimeter of lakes for nature reserves. I also found the right price of a circular pizza based on diameter. One shape that you need to find the perimeter of a lot is a rectangle. You need to find the perimeter of this shape for a plan of a house, a sandbox, or a table.
Math Reflection
This year in sixth grade math we used a program called Connected Math 2.This is supposed to be challenging for the student. Connected Math 2 is made up of eight units in which we completed six of them. The six we completed are Bits and Pieces 1, Bits and Pieces 2, Shapes and Designs, Covering and Surrounding, Prime Time, and we are currently working on How Likely Is It? In each book there are four or five chapters. In each chapter there are at least four Investigations and in each investigation there are four to five points in them. Each point in one investigation teaches us a new skill. We usually complete a point in an investigation each math day. Every night we have 30 to 45 minutes of math homework in ACE. ACE stands for Application, Connections, and Extensions. We go over the homework from the night before in class to make sure everybody understands it. This is an actual page of ACE from the book Covering and Surrounding:
I don’t think we could survive math class without our notebooks! Everything we work on, whether in school or at home for homework si recorded in our notebooks. In each of our notebooks we have four sections. The first section is “Class work” or other people may call it “Journal”. This section has everything we started and completed during class time. Next is the “Homework” section. We record our answers to our homework in here. The third section is “Assessments”. This has all of our graded pieces in it. The last section is called “References”. We keep important papers in this section to refer back to on the ASK, open book tests and our test and project rubrics. We also have a vocabulary notebook that we will take with us to 7th grade. When we are working in our books, if we see a word highlighted in yellow, we know it is a vocabulary word that we have to copy down. All of these sections help us succeed in math and it keeps us organized. In addition to the separate sections in our notebook we have the current math book we are working on, our assignment list where we write down our homework, a pencil pouch, and a packet of lab sheets corresponding with our current math book. Lab sheets are papers that help us with a problem in a chapter or for our homework. An additional reason why we have sections is to make conclusions to understand why formulas and algorithms work.
The main thing in the beginning of each of the books is “Focus Questions”. These questions reflect the big mathematical goals of the unit. This is an example of the type of problems we will be doing in the book. These questions will show up somewhere in the unit; either as a class work problem or in ACE homework. Another major opener in the book is the Mathematical Highlights. This is a preview of the important ideas of the unit. They provide a base of what we will be learning in the unit. Here is an example of a unit opener:
One of my favorite units was Coverings and Surroundings. I liked this unit because we got to learn about area and perimeter. I now know how to measure the area and perimeter of circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, and irregular shapes. I also liked it because I learned lots of different ways to measure perimeter. One example of this is to get a string and wrap it around the shape, measure it on a ruler, and then convert it to a scale. Another reason I enjoyed this unit is because we learned about the parts of a circle and how to measure them. We also learned how to use pi to find the circumference of a circle. I learned so many things. For example, I know if you want to find the area of a triangle you us the formula base x height / 2 = area. I connected the concepts in this unit to things in the real world by finding the area and perimeter of lakes for nature reserves. I also found the right price of a circular pizza based on diameter. One shape that you need to find the perimeter of a lot is a rectangle. You need to find the perimeter of this shape for a plan of a house, a sandbox, or a table.
Bibliography
Picture of Earth
http://alansmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/earth.jpg
Picture of ACE page
http://connectedmath.msu.edu/pnd/images/covering/covering ace 2.jpg
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